Problem Girls: Understanding and Supporting Troubled and Troublesome Girls and Young Women – Edited by Gwynedd Lloyd

Problem Girls: Understanding and Supporting Troubled and Troublesome Girls and Young Women . Gwynedd Lloyd ( ed. ) 2005 . Abingdon : RoutledgeFalmer , 200 pp. Paperback £22.79 . ISBN 0 415 303 14 1

This book explores the issues surrounding girls and young women who are seen to be ‘problems’ or to ‘have problems’ (p. 1): those, for example, who may be disruptive at school, do not attend school, are excluded, experience personal difficulties or who commit offences in the community. The various authors tackle issues of classroom behaviour and problems of mental health, violence and sexuality, exclusion and community offences. Despite the title, in her introduction to the text, the editor makes it very clear that the aim of the book is not to pathologise or locate the nature of such problems within the psychology of individual pupils themselves. On the contrary, the overall perspective acknowledges the social construction of emotional and behavioural difficulties and aims to help the reader better understand the contexts and range of pressures that could cause problems for any young girl, as well as unpick and challenge the processes that label. The various contributors recognise the increasing importance of schools as the primary source of support for such girls and young women, discuss the implications for the practice of teachers and other professionals, and explore implications for policy and practice.

By presenting a range of theoretical perspectives, readers of this book are encouraged to reflect on what underpins the actions of girls and young women and take their voices seriously. In this review I highlight two chapters because of their particular interest to me. Doing so however should not be taken to reflect on the quality or practicality of the remaining 11 chapters, because, to be sure, I found the whole book a fascinating read, and one that I believe would be essential reading for practitioners and professionals in education, as well as students and academics in the field.

I found Chapter 10, written by Gwynedd Lloyd herself, a particularly good place to start. Here the author presents a readable alternative to the dominant psycho-medical model of emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) where problems of social behaviour and emotional development are defined by reference to deficits within individuals (or within individuals' home backgrounds), and by reference to individual change as the solution to such problems. In addition to denying the social processes involved in the construction of deviance, the author argues that the dominant discourse within special needs education also denies the individual human experience of the girls themselves. The author suggests that an alternative approach to EBD would start with the voices of the girls and young women themselves as well as recognising the individual complexity of their lives and the processes by which they become labelled as ‘EBD’. I also found Chapter 12 particularly interesting as a first-hand account of an action research-based project called the Newham Girls' Project. This project started by giving girls ‘space to talk’ (p. 6) through various kinds of groups and highlights the importance of the social-emotional aspects of learning.

Laura Uprichard